T, How do I know where to place my kids in Meaningful Comp? Thanks, Becky

So does Meaningful Comp have two books per year? Can you start anywhere? Will my 7th grader be missing something that he should have learned in (for example) Book 5 second semester? Or, is there constant review of writing concepts in all books as you go up? Thanks, Becky

Meaningful comp. does look good. I am looking at their samples right now.

From what I have heard IEW is pretty teacher intensive. I am not able to do that, so I need something that helps the student to work more independently. WWE stands for Writing With Ease. It is written by Bauer. Thanks

Thanks Tara. Would you do it with a 7th grader? Also would I just jump into level 4 with my 5th grader (she has not done levels 1-3) What do you think? Becky

I forgot to say that my children will be 5th grade and 7th grade. My 5th grader is a very reluctant writer. But my 7th grader loves to write (creatively not formal papers). I was wondering about WWE. Does it have teaching on grammar or is it mainly teaching on writing? Becky

I am using CLE for language arts. What I am looking for is an easy writing curriculum that teaches writing (not grammar). Is there such a thing? I would love it to be very step by step and written to the student without a lot of parental teaching. Also I am not interested so much in creative writing, but more paragraph/essay 'how to's'. Does anyone have any ideas? TIA Becky

Thanks Liza, Those words ("preachy", "super-holy", "slanted") really portray what I was trying to avoid in a textbook. I think I will look at Notgrass and BJU and the others mention. Thanks everyone. Becky

Thanks for the input, although, I am trying to stay away from mixing and matching. I am really wanting a textbook. I guess I want to know if there is anything out there that just tells the story of America. I do not mind it if it is Christian and conservative, I just don't want it to be so pro America that I am constantly having to give the "other side." I am wondering about Notgrass. I know it is more than history (we would just use the history part). I also understand that it is Christian. But, maybe that would work. Any more ideas? Thanks

I need recommendations on an American History TEXTBOOK that is not overly patriotic. I guess what I am look for is a textbook that is not so pro-America that it will discuss America's strengths AND weakness. (in other words, we could not use Abeka) Is there such a thing out there? By the way, this is for my dd who will be in 11th grade. I must emphasize that I am only looking for textbooks though. Thanks, Becky

Thanks for your thoughts. One thing I keep on hearing is that kids who have used EG do not retain the info well. The coop will have literature and writing, so that is why I am considering it. I asked the teacher if she would let my son just do the Lit and writing and let me do R&S with him. She did not seem to keen on that. Thanks again, Becky

No Ideas?

Any thoughts?

Could anyone compare these for me? Is one "better" than the other? My son has been doing R&S (he will be finishing book 6) up until now. We have the opportunity to put him in a coop class for English next year, but I am not sure about Easy Grammar. The book they will be using is Easy Grammar plus. I like how rigorous and thorough R&S is, but am fearful that he will not get the same thoroughness with EG. Does anyone have any opinions? TIA Becky

We lived in China for 3 years and my daughter (9 years old at the time) was using Rosetta stone at the beginning. Everyone was amazed at how accurate her tones were. (I personally do not think young children need "tone drilling". They naturally say what they hear. Adults on the other hand definitely need that help.) After my husband and I studied Mandarin for those 3 years, I would have to say that Rosetta is very good. (tone wise, actually in most every way). Now I am talking about an old version of Rosetta. Since then we have bought the newest version with the voice recognition. The "voice" on the program was still excellent as far as tones go, but the voice recognition (or speaking part) was not very good. My husband could "fool" the program and use all the wrong tones but still get the exercise correct. I agree with the previous poster that said Mandarin is a very difficult language. Even with immersion (living in China) it was extremely difficult and took constant work.